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25 Eleasis 1372
Oct. 25th, 2011 07:14 pm“Seledra. You are Tel'Quessir, and you are my A’Sum. Nothing else matters.” It was winter, 1262. I had begun to notice that I was different from the other elven children. My mother sat at her writing desk poring over menus by wandlight, trying to decide what meal she would try to pass off as her own cooking this night.
“But O’Si, the others call me a mongrel. When we play Sun versus Moon, both sides push me away, say I’m not one of them.”
My mother’s violet eyes flickered cold for a moment before she returned to her menus. “Seledra, you are better than those common chaff moon elves and those snot-nosed sun elves...”
“But O’Si...isn’t O’Su a moon elf?”
Mother’s mouth spread into a chilly smile. I shuddered. “Why yes. He is. And perhaps it is something that your father should remember more often about his people. If a hundred, a thousand of them were to die, it would be of little concern to anyone but themselves. Like vermin they are. Common. And unremarkable.”
My face fell. No matter how much I hoped for the contrary, I knew I was my father’s daughter and not the product of my mother’s forbidden passions with someone who had warm blood in their veins. What must she think of me then? “But O’Si, doesn’t that make me...”
“No! Your father may be common, but you are MINE. MINE, MINE, MINE!!!” With a great flourish of my mother’s arm, the menus flew to the floor. Mother was standing now, breathing heavily, teeth gritted and tugging her hair for a few moments until finally, after seemingly having regained her composure, she began to use Prestidigitation to move the scattered menus back onto her desk. My mother was not, after all, one for manual labor if she could possibly help it.
I thought the danger had passed. “So...if O’Su is common and unremarkable, and I, as your daughter, am not, then what are you?”
“I don’t wish to talk about it, Seledra. It doesn’t matter anyway.” She sounded resigned, perhaps a little sad or wistful. But if I had listened just a little closer...
My curiosity got the better of me. “What are we, O’Si? I want to know!” But I was young. I didn’t know any better. The look on my mother’s face made me run towards the stairs that led to my bedroom. But I was unable to outrun my mother’s rage, or her Ray of Frost spell.
“Aren’t you going to visit your Mother today?” Ralenthra was gazing at the calendar I had hanging up on my kitchen wall. I was sitting at the dining room table examining the various takeaway menus in my possession, stopping every once in a while to scour my Druid handbook for information about curses and how they can be reversed for Aelthas. “It’s her birthday,” she continued. “Isn’t that what you...er...people who know where their mothers are do?”
“I sent her a gift.” I said nonchalantly.
I didn’t have to look up to know that Ralenthra raised an eyebrow at me.
“It’s a nice gift.” I countered to her silence. “I can’t visit her. I’m busy. I’m sure she understands.”
Ralenthra hoisted herself up on to the counter, plucked an apple from the fruit bowl beside her and took a generous bite. “You have the day off.”
I slowly looked up from my papers. “I’m planning our meals for the week, trying to find a way to reverse Mother’s curse on Aelthas, and I have to practice the dance for your upcoming ritual. Also? I just don’t...want to deal with her madness today.”
Ralenthra crunched her apple thoughtfully. “Understood,” she said, after swallowing. But something caught her eye. “Is that...is that Drizzt Do’Urden’s memoirs I see hidden under the Seven Little Fortunes menu?”
I grimaced in embarrassment but confessed, all the same. “It’s the first volume, yes.”
“And?”
“He’s a bit of an odd sort. He talks about events he could not have possibly witnessed and of course, everyone else being evil but him makes any information that came from anyone else instantly unreliable. He’s narcissistic, vain, whiny, self-absorbed-”
“Wait, shouldn’t you like him then?” Ralenthra grinned.
I rolled my eyes and continued.“Shut up. He’s a got a creepy idea that his sisters all want to sleep with him...”
Ralenthra took another bite of her apple. “Typical.”
I made a face. “Really?”
“Really.”
“Ew. Anyway, I want to like him. Because he’s good and all, you know, fighting the good fight. But...he makes it rather difficult. In fact, he’s kind of insufferable.”
“And yet?”
I cover my face in my hands. “And yet I can’t put it down for long.”
Ralenthra finished her apple. She hopped down off the counter, opened the window that was over our sink and tossed it outside that window into the compost bin below. “Let’s see it then.”
I excitedly rolled out the large parchment detailing my grand plans for breaking into the Hall of Records. Aelthas and Duglan, my constant companions, took a gander.
“You’re going to do WHAT to WHO?” Aelthas stared at me, eyes wide.
My beau had obviously gotten to the part where I seduce a priest of Deneir (or as many as I have to) in order to get access to the ‘Forbidden’ Spellbook section at the Vault of the Sages. Why have the books around at all if they’re not going to be read? “Oh, that. Don’t worry about me. I’m still a virgin, after all.”
“You are??!” both the boys exclaimed.
I thought of Thralia, and blushed. “Well, technically, yes.” I answered, and then I clarified, “Anyway, I’m not using anything south of my waist for this job. I don’t have to.”
“You sound pretty confident.” intoned Duglan with a wink and a smile. “Want to give us a demonstration?”
“Shut up, Duglan.” Aelthas said with a scowl. He turned to me, and brushed a stray lock of hair behind my ear. “Seledra, why? Why are you doing this?”
“I need to sow the seeds of chaos. After you cast the spells to bend the wards around the university and open up all those portals, most of the mages will be too busy trying to shut them down to detect what’s going on at Everdusk Hall.” It made perfect sense to me at the time...
Aelthas held me, not ungently, but with some urgency, about my shoulders. “But that’s the thing with chaos. It’s unpredictable. You could get burned. And then all of us will suffer. Is it worth it?”
I sighed. “Aelthas, what are you?”
He raised an eyebrow, as if he wasn’t sure where I was going with this. But he humored me. “I’m a human. But my mother is a half-elf.”
“What kind of elf?”
He shook his head in irritation. “Why does it matter?”
I answered calmly. “Answer the question. Surely you must know.”
Aelthas sighed and rolled his eyes even as he concentrated. “My mother was raised by her human mother. My elven grandfather died young. Some sort of accident. He was...a moon elf. From Evereska.”
“See? You know what you are. And I bet you could tell me where your human ancestors hail from as well.”
“Seledra, I don’t see-”
“I DON’T KNOW WHAT I AM, Aelthas! Don’t you know how unsettling that is? And don’t you think that if I had any other options at my disposal, that I’d use them? Whatever my mother is hiding from me, she’s hiding it very, very well. And father is no help at all.”
Aelthas gulped and stared at me a while. Duglan had already retired to a nearby chaise and draped a book over his face to escape the awkwardness. My beau sighed and kissed me on the forehead. “Very well, sweet heart. It’s your choice. Just...don’t get caught, all right?”
“Don’t worry. If I get caught, I won’t say who helped me. I love you, Aelthas. And I will never betray you.”
Late into the night, I could still hear Ralenthra howling with laughter as she read Drizzt Do’Urden’s memoirs. I peered over my covers at the next two books from the drow’s autobiographical series as they sat, waiting for my perusal, on my nightstand. There was to be even more to follow, I had heard. I scowled.
I turned my back on the tomes to stretch. Ralenthra had really put me through a workout today. After the dance practice, she still had energy to burn, and decided that she also wanted to draft me into becoming her sparring practice partner. I must have broken three wooden swords today because I wasn’t fast enough to hit her. I comforted myself with the fact that when I do hit, I hit hard. And no, I don’t mean her.
Wielding the sword today made me think more on my goals of embarking on an adventuring side-career. My hands would tingle with anticipation every time I went to the mailbox, as I hoped that each day will be the day a summons comes from Captain Tagen, or whoever Tagen is working for, telling us to pack our bags and head out somewhere kind of dangerous.
It didn’t come today, but hopefully something will come soon. I just know that something good is going to happen...
I dreamed...
I saw a short, red-haired human girl fitted into finery worthy of a lady-in-waiting; watching the Glittersmokes buzz about the girl was Thralia, who looked like she was giving detailed instructions, either to the gnomish seamstresses or to the human girl...
I saw Ralenthra, poring over what looked to be this very diary. Looking over her shoulder was Tordrin, who was pointing out something of note to my friend. Ralenthra’s eyes widened...
I saw a drow male reclining on my mother’s bed. He seemed to be arguing with a striking-looking female sun elf who was attempting to use my mother’s scrying mirror. A soft grey cat hopped on the bed beside the drow and swatted him in the face. The sun elf laughed. The drow fell off the bed unsuccessfully trying to swat back at the cat. The sun elf laughed even harder...
I saw Kronk, flanked by Selune and a half-elf Heartwarder as he carried a human girl child on his shoulders. The snow was falling softly. Cardinals and Blue Jays circled about the girl as she laughed. Kronk and the Heartwarder seemed to be looking for something, and they finally stopped at Joon’s Curry Stand in the Market District. Everyone ate heartily.
I saw Silverymoon Palace. A bolt of lightning struck nearby.
I saw Magnos and Jonah, with Scamp wrapped around his master’s shoulders like an old woman’s fur collar, outside the Map House. They were discussing something rather animatedly, with Jonah’s expression going from dubious to more dubious to annoyed to resigned...
I awoke with a start. I couldn’t shake the feeling that the vignettes I bore witness to were connected somehow. And I wondered why I wasn’t there.
“But O’Si, the others call me a mongrel. When we play Sun versus Moon, both sides push me away, say I’m not one of them.”
My mother’s violet eyes flickered cold for a moment before she returned to her menus. “Seledra, you are better than those common chaff moon elves and those snot-nosed sun elves...”
“But O’Si...isn’t O’Su a moon elf?”
Mother’s mouth spread into a chilly smile. I shuddered. “Why yes. He is. And perhaps it is something that your father should remember more often about his people. If a hundred, a thousand of them were to die, it would be of little concern to anyone but themselves. Like vermin they are. Common. And unremarkable.”
My face fell. No matter how much I hoped for the contrary, I knew I was my father’s daughter and not the product of my mother’s forbidden passions with someone who had warm blood in their veins. What must she think of me then? “But O’Si, doesn’t that make me...”
“No! Your father may be common, but you are MINE. MINE, MINE, MINE!!!” With a great flourish of my mother’s arm, the menus flew to the floor. Mother was standing now, breathing heavily, teeth gritted and tugging her hair for a few moments until finally, after seemingly having regained her composure, she began to use Prestidigitation to move the scattered menus back onto her desk. My mother was not, after all, one for manual labor if she could possibly help it.
I thought the danger had passed. “So...if O’Su is common and unremarkable, and I, as your daughter, am not, then what are you?”
“I don’t wish to talk about it, Seledra. It doesn’t matter anyway.” She sounded resigned, perhaps a little sad or wistful. But if I had listened just a little closer...
My curiosity got the better of me. “What are we, O’Si? I want to know!” But I was young. I didn’t know any better. The look on my mother’s face made me run towards the stairs that led to my bedroom. But I was unable to outrun my mother’s rage, or her Ray of Frost spell.
~
“Aren’t you going to visit your Mother today?” Ralenthra was gazing at the calendar I had hanging up on my kitchen wall. I was sitting at the dining room table examining the various takeaway menus in my possession, stopping every once in a while to scour my Druid handbook for information about curses and how they can be reversed for Aelthas. “It’s her birthday,” she continued. “Isn’t that what you...er...people who know where their mothers are do?”
“I sent her a gift.” I said nonchalantly.
I didn’t have to look up to know that Ralenthra raised an eyebrow at me.
“It’s a nice gift.” I countered to her silence. “I can’t visit her. I’m busy. I’m sure she understands.”
Ralenthra hoisted herself up on to the counter, plucked an apple from the fruit bowl beside her and took a generous bite. “You have the day off.”
I slowly looked up from my papers. “I’m planning our meals for the week, trying to find a way to reverse Mother’s curse on Aelthas, and I have to practice the dance for your upcoming ritual. Also? I just don’t...want to deal with her madness today.”
Ralenthra crunched her apple thoughtfully. “Understood,” she said, after swallowing. But something caught her eye. “Is that...is that Drizzt Do’Urden’s memoirs I see hidden under the Seven Little Fortunes menu?”
I grimaced in embarrassment but confessed, all the same. “It’s the first volume, yes.”
“And?”
“He’s a bit of an odd sort. He talks about events he could not have possibly witnessed and of course, everyone else being evil but him makes any information that came from anyone else instantly unreliable. He’s narcissistic, vain, whiny, self-absorbed-”
“Wait, shouldn’t you like him then?” Ralenthra grinned.
I rolled my eyes and continued.“Shut up. He’s a got a creepy idea that his sisters all want to sleep with him...”
Ralenthra took another bite of her apple. “Typical.”
I made a face. “Really?”
“Really.”
“Ew. Anyway, I want to like him. Because he’s good and all, you know, fighting the good fight. But...he makes it rather difficult. In fact, he’s kind of insufferable.”
“And yet?”
I cover my face in my hands. “And yet I can’t put it down for long.”
Ralenthra finished her apple. She hopped down off the counter, opened the window that was over our sink and tossed it outside that window into the compost bin below. “Let’s see it then.”
~
I excitedly rolled out the large parchment detailing my grand plans for breaking into the Hall of Records. Aelthas and Duglan, my constant companions, took a gander.
“You’re going to do WHAT to WHO?” Aelthas stared at me, eyes wide.
My beau had obviously gotten to the part where I seduce a priest of Deneir (or as many as I have to) in order to get access to the ‘Forbidden’ Spellbook section at the Vault of the Sages. Why have the books around at all if they’re not going to be read? “Oh, that. Don’t worry about me. I’m still a virgin, after all.”
“You are??!” both the boys exclaimed.
I thought of Thralia, and blushed. “Well, technically, yes.” I answered, and then I clarified, “Anyway, I’m not using anything south of my waist for this job. I don’t have to.”
“You sound pretty confident.” intoned Duglan with a wink and a smile. “Want to give us a demonstration?”
“Shut up, Duglan.” Aelthas said with a scowl. He turned to me, and brushed a stray lock of hair behind my ear. “Seledra, why? Why are you doing this?”
“I need to sow the seeds of chaos. After you cast the spells to bend the wards around the university and open up all those portals, most of the mages will be too busy trying to shut them down to detect what’s going on at Everdusk Hall.” It made perfect sense to me at the time...
Aelthas held me, not ungently, but with some urgency, about my shoulders. “But that’s the thing with chaos. It’s unpredictable. You could get burned. And then all of us will suffer. Is it worth it?”
I sighed. “Aelthas, what are you?”
He raised an eyebrow, as if he wasn’t sure where I was going with this. But he humored me. “I’m a human. But my mother is a half-elf.”
“What kind of elf?”
He shook his head in irritation. “Why does it matter?”
I answered calmly. “Answer the question. Surely you must know.”
Aelthas sighed and rolled his eyes even as he concentrated. “My mother was raised by her human mother. My elven grandfather died young. Some sort of accident. He was...a moon elf. From Evereska.”
“See? You know what you are. And I bet you could tell me where your human ancestors hail from as well.”
“Seledra, I don’t see-”
“I DON’T KNOW WHAT I AM, Aelthas! Don’t you know how unsettling that is? And don’t you think that if I had any other options at my disposal, that I’d use them? Whatever my mother is hiding from me, she’s hiding it very, very well. And father is no help at all.”
Aelthas gulped and stared at me a while. Duglan had already retired to a nearby chaise and draped a book over his face to escape the awkwardness. My beau sighed and kissed me on the forehead. “Very well, sweet heart. It’s your choice. Just...don’t get caught, all right?”
“Don’t worry. If I get caught, I won’t say who helped me. I love you, Aelthas. And I will never betray you.”
~
Late into the night, I could still hear Ralenthra howling with laughter as she read Drizzt Do’Urden’s memoirs. I peered over my covers at the next two books from the drow’s autobiographical series as they sat, waiting for my perusal, on my nightstand. There was to be even more to follow, I had heard. I scowled.
I turned my back on the tomes to stretch. Ralenthra had really put me through a workout today. After the dance practice, she still had energy to burn, and decided that she also wanted to draft me into becoming her sparring practice partner. I must have broken three wooden swords today because I wasn’t fast enough to hit her. I comforted myself with the fact that when I do hit, I hit hard. And no, I don’t mean her.
Wielding the sword today made me think more on my goals of embarking on an adventuring side-career. My hands would tingle with anticipation every time I went to the mailbox, as I hoped that each day will be the day a summons comes from Captain Tagen, or whoever Tagen is working for, telling us to pack our bags and head out somewhere kind of dangerous.
It didn’t come today, but hopefully something will come soon. I just know that something good is going to happen...
~
I dreamed...
I saw a short, red-haired human girl fitted into finery worthy of a lady-in-waiting; watching the Glittersmokes buzz about the girl was Thralia, who looked like she was giving detailed instructions, either to the gnomish seamstresses or to the human girl...
I saw Ralenthra, poring over what looked to be this very diary. Looking over her shoulder was Tordrin, who was pointing out something of note to my friend. Ralenthra’s eyes widened...
I saw a drow male reclining on my mother’s bed. He seemed to be arguing with a striking-looking female sun elf who was attempting to use my mother’s scrying mirror. A soft grey cat hopped on the bed beside the drow and swatted him in the face. The sun elf laughed. The drow fell off the bed unsuccessfully trying to swat back at the cat. The sun elf laughed even harder...
I saw Kronk, flanked by Selune and a half-elf Heartwarder as he carried a human girl child on his shoulders. The snow was falling softly. Cardinals and Blue Jays circled about the girl as she laughed. Kronk and the Heartwarder seemed to be looking for something, and they finally stopped at Joon’s Curry Stand in the Market District. Everyone ate heartily.
I saw Silverymoon Palace. A bolt of lightning struck nearby.
I saw Magnos and Jonah, with Scamp wrapped around his master’s shoulders like an old woman’s fur collar, outside the Map House. They were discussing something rather animatedly, with Jonah’s expression going from dubious to more dubious to annoyed to resigned...
~
I awoke with a start. I couldn’t shake the feeling that the vignettes I bore witness to were connected somehow. And I wondered why I wasn’t there.
Tags:
- bureaucratic nightmares,
- d'aww the big lug,
- damn humans,
- drow,
- emo drow is emo,
- every day i shock,
- girl talk,
- gossip girls,
- harpers,
- he's a magic man,
- holy calamity family insanity,
- i hate you dad,
- it doesn't mean anything,
- mother's on the drink again,
- pranks and schemes,
- reminiscing,
- the shape of things to come,
- thralia,
- visions
7 Eleasis 1372 - Evening
Nov. 28th, 2010 12:50 amClack! Clack! Clack!
The cool, smooth ivory tiles clicked against each other as I and three others shuffled for my third mahjong game of the night. I was on a roll. My last game had finished before it had even begun with a "heavenly win" and the less serious players had either retreated to other, less competitive tables, back to their tea to lick their wounds, or if female, hovered around me like honeybees, buzzing with appreciation for every crafty move I made. They especially liked it when I flipped my chips downward along the knuckles of my hand. I was so buried in the part that I had started to wink back at them and let them pour my tea, peel my lychees, and pop the fruit's sweet white flesh into my mouth for me.
Magnos, I think, would have been pleased.
Eighteen stacks, two tiles high...
The dealer threw three dice. Next game, it would be my turn to deal, if I didn't clean everyone out first. I tented my fingers and took a moment to notice my current opponents.
The Dowager was one of my most stubborn opponents, an ancient but clearly wealthy woman that no one wanted to make eye contact with who sat across from me. She had kept changing in her jewelry for more chips and plum wine and was now almost completely bereft of any ornamentation beyond her sumptuous silken robes, tiny slippers and the little lion-faced dog that perched on her lap. The diminutive pooch looked vaguely familiar to me at the time, but I could not place where I'd seen him.
The Doctor sat to my left. The current dealer, she was a soft-spoken blind woman in what I guessed to be her early 30s. She wore a plum colored cap and matching robes. Despite her condition, her fingers were nimble and precise, and whispers I'd overheard led me to believe that she was a doctor!
The Thief, on my right, was a man said to be the leader of the Guild, a semi-criminal organization operating out of the Imperial City. Semi-criminal, as this new leader was weeding out the slave traders from his employ, but certainly had no problem with poisoners, thieves, or loan-sharks working under him. His personal bodyguard, a huge, bearded bear of a man wielding twin axes, drank heavily with a much shorter, skinnier and harried-looking man by his side at a table near to us. The Guild Leader didn't look like he needed the protection. His muscles rippled under his open, sky-blue vest. Strapped to his back were twin sabers, still sharp. His wits were as keen as his blades and his fingers were so quick, that I consciously kept my chips near so that he didn't surreptitiously make off with them.
The Doctor took four tiles to the the left of the divide. The rest of us followed suit until we each had twelve tiles. The Doctor slid a fingertip across her tiles and frowned. The Dowager looked at her tiles, looked at the board, looked at the tiles again and sighed wearily before pouring herself another drink. I looked at my tiles, did not smile, but sipped my tea and smacked my lips. I may have been cleaning up, but it was soon apparent that I still had a lot to learn about playing mahjong in Shou Lung.
The Thief watched me closely, smiled to himself, and then called over his shoulder, "Hou, you'd better fetch my wife. It looks like this game and the next will be brief."
Surprisingly, it was the small, hen-pecked looking man who answered. "Are you sure that's necessary?"
The Thief smiled. "Yes, tell her I want her to blow on my dice when it's my turn to deal. For good luck." The short, harried man took off into the night.
The Doctor started first. "Discarding nine wan."
I chuckled at the Thief and scooped up the desired tile. "You think your wife can save you from the sound thrashing I'm giving to your wallet? Discarding one suo."
The Thief smirked at me. "Not my wallet, no. Discarding xi wind."
It took six turns, but I had my desired hand by the end. I spread out my hand proudly. "Baiban pung (three of-a-kind). Nine wan kong (four of-a-kind). Seven suo sheung (straight of three). Dong eyes (pair)."
The crowd that had gathered to watch our game gasped as the Dowager pulled a small headpiece from from her hair, causing it to fall around her face in grey tangles. She slapped it on the table and demanded more chips. The Thief mumbled under his breath, "Any moment now, Ling!"
Everything came to a stop as an imposing-looking young woman walked through the door. It was odd, the respect commanded by one so young and so informally dressed. She dressed in an elegant dark blue and gold pantsuit and wore her hair in a practical style that was parted down the middle in the front and drawn into a conservative bun in the back. The circular jade pendant she wore matched the one the Thief also wore around his neck.
Ah, I thought, she's his wife.
And then she turned and stared at me, narrowing her eyes. A not unfriendly smile crept across her face. She crossed the room, whispered in the Thief's ear, whereupon he got up and she sat down in his place. It was my turn to deal, so I threw the dice, and we began to shuffle the tiles again.
I turned to her and said, "So, you've come to rescue your husband from the slaughter?"
You can imagine my shock when she answered me in Elvish. "No, I'm here to rescue the Princess." She gestured towards the Dowager. And then I remembered that I'd seen a portrait of the old woman and her little dog in one of my books. My eyes popped, but I said nothing. I was in way over my head and I could only hope at that point to get back to Silverymoon alive.
She let that sink in for a while, until we started to take our four tiles at a time, and continued with "and I'm here to make you a deal, as I can see that you mean no malice."
Crap.
She must be able to see through the disguise other spell. I looked at my hands to see if the spell had worn off. Still Magnos' hands. True seeing, then. Must be a powerful mage.
Tentatively, I spoke in Elvish back to her. It sounded lovely uttered by Magnos' voice. "What do you want?"
The woman chuckled heartily and then pinned me down with her eyes. "I want you to lose, little creature. You did not come in here to drain the royal coffers. You came in here because you want something."
I gulped, and ransacked my mind for information. If this woman was here to keep me from bankrupting the Princess Dowager, then who was she? And then I remembered. Out loud. "Scholar Ling. A Wu Jen. Rose from an obscure fishing village to become the chief adviser to the new Empress, Sun Lian. Some say you disposed of her father yourself."
"That's part of the story, yes. But what is it that you want, curious little creature?"
I sighed and looked at my tiles. Another "heavenly win" sat in front of me, mocking me. What did I want more? To win everything or to get what I came in for? I drew a deep breath and exhaled as I pushed all my chips in. "There is an amulet in the market. Ruby, surrounded by pearls on a gold chain. I want it."
Ling sat back and thought a moment while I drew a worthless tile and discarded a valuable one. "Ah, I know the one. It once belonged to a Wu Jen of the previous dynasty. It is an artifact of some arcane power, now being peddled for some collector to snatch it up. But why would you want that, little druid?" She smiled playfully. Like a cat about to devour a mouse.
I smiled back. "I never said I wanted it for myself."
Ling's face softened, as she looked from the Thief, who was now chatting it up with his bodyguard, back to me. "I cannot give you what your heart wants, but the amulet will be yours, I promise you."
Every turn was a small blow to my ego as I threw away strategically vital pieces and kept useless ones. As my hot streak ended, people returned to their tables and their homes. My attendants dissolved one by one into the background. It was not enough for me to simply give back what I had won, indeed, the Scholar refused me on that. I had to lose. I feel as though Ling was trying to teach me something in my voluntary defeat, about pride, about temperance, about sacrifice. I hoped that I had learned enough so I'd never have to go through something so humiliating again. At least I was allowed to lose everything in one game.
When the game ended, the Doctor bid us all goodbye, and she patted the arms of the Scholar and the Thief as she left. The Princess Dowager sat pliantly as her finery was returned to her person by the Scholar and the Thief together.
The Scholar, slipping earrings back on to the Dowager's ears, whispered to the Thief, "You don't have to stay. I've got this under control."
The Thief, slipping rings back onto the Dowager's fingers, whispered back, "You have everything under control. Always. I'm still here because I want to be near you." He took her hand gently and kissed her fingertips.
"Always." Ling replied. Then she shook her head as she began to re-arrange the Dowager's hair. "Sky, we've talked about this."
Sky smiled wistfully and handed the Dowager's headpiece to Ling. "And we'll talk about it again, I'm sure. I realize that Lian needs you daily for guidance and counsel so that she will become a more wise and compassionate leader, but she doesn't need you to tuck her into bed at night! What I want to know is, will I see you later?"
Ling scowled at Sky, her mouth a tight, forbidding line. But when he smiled and waggled his eyebrows at her, her eyes began to dance and she snorted out a laugh. Ah, we are all fools for love, I thought with a smile. "Tomorrow," she said. Sky nodded and turned to leave but she told him to follow us.
As we walked out, I walked past Methrammar, who was watching me with a bewildered expression. I shrugged, mouthed for him to follow us and continued out into the cooling night air with the Scholar and the Dowager. A handful of the Imperial Guard was waiting. Ling instructed them to take the Dowager back to the Palace.
"Shall we wait for you, Scholar?" asked one of the guards.
Ling considered. "No."
The guards all smiled.
Ling rolled her eyes and waved them off. "Oh, stop it. You're like a bunch of old women!"
After the royal carriage pulled away, Ling took me by the hand and returned to speaking elvish. "Come."
The Scholar kept her word, and where it would have taken a life's savings from one such as me, the amulet was given to Ling with just the mere pointing of her finger. She tucked it away in a pocket over my heart and said, "Do not be afraid to let your heart lead you, little creature."
She smiled at me one last time and ran to Sky, taking his hand, and stealing away with him into the night.
Methrammar was waiting for me. I ran to him. We walked back to our inn in silence. Finally, when we reached the bottom of the stairs, he asked, "Did you win big?"
I smiled, and answered, "I got what I came for."
We mounted the last flight of the stairs together. Methrammar laughed and said, "Good. Now, let's get that silly man-suit off of you!"
The cool, smooth ivory tiles clicked against each other as I and three others shuffled for my third mahjong game of the night. I was on a roll. My last game had finished before it had even begun with a "heavenly win" and the less serious players had either retreated to other, less competitive tables, back to their tea to lick their wounds, or if female, hovered around me like honeybees, buzzing with appreciation for every crafty move I made. They especially liked it when I flipped my chips downward along the knuckles of my hand. I was so buried in the part that I had started to wink back at them and let them pour my tea, peel my lychees, and pop the fruit's sweet white flesh into my mouth for me.
Magnos, I think, would have been pleased.
Eighteen stacks, two tiles high...
The dealer threw three dice. Next game, it would be my turn to deal, if I didn't clean everyone out first. I tented my fingers and took a moment to notice my current opponents.
The Dowager was one of my most stubborn opponents, an ancient but clearly wealthy woman that no one wanted to make eye contact with who sat across from me. She had kept changing in her jewelry for more chips and plum wine and was now almost completely bereft of any ornamentation beyond her sumptuous silken robes, tiny slippers and the little lion-faced dog that perched on her lap. The diminutive pooch looked vaguely familiar to me at the time, but I could not place where I'd seen him.
The Doctor sat to my left. The current dealer, she was a soft-spoken blind woman in what I guessed to be her early 30s. She wore a plum colored cap and matching robes. Despite her condition, her fingers were nimble and precise, and whispers I'd overheard led me to believe that she was a doctor!
The Thief, on my right, was a man said to be the leader of the Guild, a semi-criminal organization operating out of the Imperial City. Semi-criminal, as this new leader was weeding out the slave traders from his employ, but certainly had no problem with poisoners, thieves, or loan-sharks working under him. His personal bodyguard, a huge, bearded bear of a man wielding twin axes, drank heavily with a much shorter, skinnier and harried-looking man by his side at a table near to us. The Guild Leader didn't look like he needed the protection. His muscles rippled under his open, sky-blue vest. Strapped to his back were twin sabers, still sharp. His wits were as keen as his blades and his fingers were so quick, that I consciously kept my chips near so that he didn't surreptitiously make off with them.
The Doctor took four tiles to the the left of the divide. The rest of us followed suit until we each had twelve tiles. The Doctor slid a fingertip across her tiles and frowned. The Dowager looked at her tiles, looked at the board, looked at the tiles again and sighed wearily before pouring herself another drink. I looked at my tiles, did not smile, but sipped my tea and smacked my lips. I may have been cleaning up, but it was soon apparent that I still had a lot to learn about playing mahjong in Shou Lung.
The Thief watched me closely, smiled to himself, and then called over his shoulder, "Hou, you'd better fetch my wife. It looks like this game and the next will be brief."
Surprisingly, it was the small, hen-pecked looking man who answered. "Are you sure that's necessary?"
The Thief smiled. "Yes, tell her I want her to blow on my dice when it's my turn to deal. For good luck." The short, harried man took off into the night.
The Doctor started first. "Discarding nine wan."
I chuckled at the Thief and scooped up the desired tile. "You think your wife can save you from the sound thrashing I'm giving to your wallet? Discarding one suo."
The Thief smirked at me. "Not my wallet, no. Discarding xi wind."
It took six turns, but I had my desired hand by the end. I spread out my hand proudly. "Baiban pung (three of-a-kind). Nine wan kong (four of-a-kind). Seven suo sheung (straight of three). Dong eyes (pair)."
The crowd that had gathered to watch our game gasped as the Dowager pulled a small headpiece from from her hair, causing it to fall around her face in grey tangles. She slapped it on the table and demanded more chips. The Thief mumbled under his breath, "Any moment now, Ling!"
Everything came to a stop as an imposing-looking young woman walked through the door. It was odd, the respect commanded by one so young and so informally dressed. She dressed in an elegant dark blue and gold pantsuit and wore her hair in a practical style that was parted down the middle in the front and drawn into a conservative bun in the back. The circular jade pendant she wore matched the one the Thief also wore around his neck.
Ah, I thought, she's his wife.
And then she turned and stared at me, narrowing her eyes. A not unfriendly smile crept across her face. She crossed the room, whispered in the Thief's ear, whereupon he got up and she sat down in his place. It was my turn to deal, so I threw the dice, and we began to shuffle the tiles again.
I turned to her and said, "So, you've come to rescue your husband from the slaughter?"
You can imagine my shock when she answered me in Elvish. "No, I'm here to rescue the Princess." She gestured towards the Dowager. And then I remembered that I'd seen a portrait of the old woman and her little dog in one of my books. My eyes popped, but I said nothing. I was in way over my head and I could only hope at that point to get back to Silverymoon alive.
She let that sink in for a while, until we started to take our four tiles at a time, and continued with "and I'm here to make you a deal, as I can see that you mean no malice."
Crap.
She must be able to see through the disguise other spell. I looked at my hands to see if the spell had worn off. Still Magnos' hands. True seeing, then. Must be a powerful mage.
Tentatively, I spoke in Elvish back to her. It sounded lovely uttered by Magnos' voice. "What do you want?"
The woman chuckled heartily and then pinned me down with her eyes. "I want you to lose, little creature. You did not come in here to drain the royal coffers. You came in here because you want something."
I gulped, and ransacked my mind for information. If this woman was here to keep me from bankrupting the Princess Dowager, then who was she? And then I remembered. Out loud. "Scholar Ling. A Wu Jen. Rose from an obscure fishing village to become the chief adviser to the new Empress, Sun Lian. Some say you disposed of her father yourself."
"That's part of the story, yes. But what is it that you want, curious little creature?"
I sighed and looked at my tiles. Another "heavenly win" sat in front of me, mocking me. What did I want more? To win everything or to get what I came in for? I drew a deep breath and exhaled as I pushed all my chips in. "There is an amulet in the market. Ruby, surrounded by pearls on a gold chain. I want it."
Ling sat back and thought a moment while I drew a worthless tile and discarded a valuable one. "Ah, I know the one. It once belonged to a Wu Jen of the previous dynasty. It is an artifact of some arcane power, now being peddled for some collector to snatch it up. But why would you want that, little druid?" She smiled playfully. Like a cat about to devour a mouse.
I smiled back. "I never said I wanted it for myself."
Ling's face softened, as she looked from the Thief, who was now chatting it up with his bodyguard, back to me. "I cannot give you what your heart wants, but the amulet will be yours, I promise you."
Every turn was a small blow to my ego as I threw away strategically vital pieces and kept useless ones. As my hot streak ended, people returned to their tables and their homes. My attendants dissolved one by one into the background. It was not enough for me to simply give back what I had won, indeed, the Scholar refused me on that. I had to lose. I feel as though Ling was trying to teach me something in my voluntary defeat, about pride, about temperance, about sacrifice. I hoped that I had learned enough so I'd never have to go through something so humiliating again. At least I was allowed to lose everything in one game.
When the game ended, the Doctor bid us all goodbye, and she patted the arms of the Scholar and the Thief as she left. The Princess Dowager sat pliantly as her finery was returned to her person by the Scholar and the Thief together.
The Scholar, slipping earrings back on to the Dowager's ears, whispered to the Thief, "You don't have to stay. I've got this under control."
The Thief, slipping rings back onto the Dowager's fingers, whispered back, "You have everything under control. Always. I'm still here because I want to be near you." He took her hand gently and kissed her fingertips.
"Always." Ling replied. Then she shook her head as she began to re-arrange the Dowager's hair. "Sky, we've talked about this."
Sky smiled wistfully and handed the Dowager's headpiece to Ling. "And we'll talk about it again, I'm sure. I realize that Lian needs you daily for guidance and counsel so that she will become a more wise and compassionate leader, but she doesn't need you to tuck her into bed at night! What I want to know is, will I see you later?"
Ling scowled at Sky, her mouth a tight, forbidding line. But when he smiled and waggled his eyebrows at her, her eyes began to dance and she snorted out a laugh. Ah, we are all fools for love, I thought with a smile. "Tomorrow," she said. Sky nodded and turned to leave but she told him to follow us.
As we walked out, I walked past Methrammar, who was watching me with a bewildered expression. I shrugged, mouthed for him to follow us and continued out into the cooling night air with the Scholar and the Dowager. A handful of the Imperial Guard was waiting. Ling instructed them to take the Dowager back to the Palace.
"Shall we wait for you, Scholar?" asked one of the guards.
Ling considered. "No."
The guards all smiled.
Ling rolled her eyes and waved them off. "Oh, stop it. You're like a bunch of old women!"
After the royal carriage pulled away, Ling took me by the hand and returned to speaking elvish. "Come."
The Scholar kept her word, and where it would have taken a life's savings from one such as me, the amulet was given to Ling with just the mere pointing of her finger. She tucked it away in a pocket over my heart and said, "Do not be afraid to let your heart lead you, little creature."
She smiled at me one last time and ran to Sky, taking his hand, and stealing away with him into the night.
Methrammar was waiting for me. I ran to him. We walked back to our inn in silence. Finally, when we reached the bottom of the stairs, he asked, "Did you win big?"
I smiled, and answered, "I got what I came for."
We mounted the last flight of the stairs together. Methrammar laughed and said, "Good. Now, let's get that silly man-suit off of you!"
7 Eleasis 1372 – Afternoon
Nov. 28th, 2010 12:50 amThe market would be open late into the evening. Methrammar was adequately softened up. It was time to spring into action.
I sidled up to my lover and batted my eyelids coquettishly as we exited our suite together. “Methrammar darling, are you practiced at transmutation spells?”
The tall half-elf at my side bowed his head in thought. “Well,” he spoke hesitantly, “my mother enchanted a wand with a few spells of the transmutation school. The great thing about it is that it has unlimited uses.” He pulled the wand out of a pocket on the inside of his cape and pointed it at me dramatically. “I call it...the Transmogrifyer!”
I giggled and Methrammar smiled gently. “Yes, it's a rather silly name, isn't it? Tyresia was actually the one to call it that. Mother meant it for me to use for diplomatic purposes only, but Tyresia was always thinking of more amusing things to do with it.”
I took it out of his open hand gently and felt it crackle with Alustriel's magical aura. The Transmogrifyer was indeed a powerful artifact. I winked at Methrammar and and swished the wand at him playfully. “So, what's it loaded with?”
As we continued down the stairs to the exit, he listed off the stored spells of the wand I now held in my hot little hand:
Disguise self
Polymorph other
Translate languages
Perfect. I frowned slightly and tried to sound unimpressed. “Doesn't sound like much. I mean, only three spells?”
Methrammar stared at me, mouth agape. “Remember Seledra, this wand has unlimited uses per day!”
I bustled ahead of him and out the door. He strode to catch up. I called over my shoulder, “And it can be used anywhere, even here?”
“Oh, yes!” my companion exclaimed.
I chortled to myself and stopped suddenly after we reached the tea house from the day before. “I want to play a game.”
Methrammar frowned gently. “Darling, the locals are uncomfortable with your presence as it is. Best not to force yourself on them. I know you think you can change the world by the sheer force of your will...” he stroked my cheek affectionately,”and sometimes even I believe that you can, but, well, we're on vacation!”
I pouted. “I believe this little excursion was your idea of showing me a good time, yes? You said I could do whatever my heart desires! I want to play. I want to win. There's something I want to buy in the market...”
My lover wrapped his arm around my shoulder placatingly, “Whatever it is that you want, darling, I'll buy it. No price is too high-”
I couldn't make him pay for the amulet. The very idea made my skin crawl with guilt. I held my hand up. “No. You've already been more than generous. This is something I have to do for myself. However...”
Methrammar raised a hopeful eyebrow.
I continued, “I need you to cast a few spells on me. I know that they will never let an elf beat them, even if I am a better mahjong player.”
Methrammar gazed past me at the people swarming in and around the tea house and nodded. “You need to be beyond reproach. You need to look like one of them, and not one of the locals. No one wants to walk inside their favorite tea house only to spot their doppelganger. And I'm sure you don't want someone getting too familiar with you if they recognize you either. That leaves someone who can't possibly be in the vicinity.” He grimaced sheepishly. “I'm afraid I'm not familiar with too many individuals of the Shou persuasion."
I cocked my head to the side. "You should do something about that sometime."
He nodded. "I know."
"Well, who do you know? An ambassador? A diplomat? A traveling monk on a mission to right wrongs where he sees them?" I poked.
Methrammar shook his head. "No country from Kara-Tur has any ambassadorial relationship with any country in Faerun, and that's been making trade with them rather...slippery."
"Well, maybe you should take another trip here, make some contacts, see about building an embassy back in Silverymoon. Your mother would be proud." I said.
Methrammar smiled broadly. "You're right, that's a wonderful idea. I shall let her know as soon as I see her again."
here was a lull in the conversation. We weren't moving forward. So I poked again. "I'm not sure you answered my question, darling."
"Mm?"
I repeated my question from earlier. "Who do you know?"
Methrammar heaved a sigh and mumbled something I couldn't hear.
"What?"
Methrammar said a little sharply, "Magnos."
I must have been visibly taken aback, for my lover softened his expression and continued. "Yes, it's terrible, isn't it? I wish I had someone more...appropriate for you, but there it is."
I stammered. "B-but there's got to be someone else. Anyone else. Not him." The temptation would be too great.
"He is of the Shou persuasion, is he not? He's male, which will give you a bonus in this society. And finally, there is absolutely no chance that he'll come walking through this door. You're not...uncomfortable with the idea, are you?" He raised an eyebrow at me and gazed a little penetratingly into my eyes.
I blinked. "No, should I be? Sure, I could use the swagger and the confidence, but...well, I mean, it's just-"
"Yes?" He stretched out the word for an inordinate amount of time.
I flailed my arms about. "He's got man parts! I mean, how-how do you walk around with those bits dangling between your legs? Don't they get in the way?"
Methrammar threw back his head and laughed. "I guess you'll find out soon enough, my love." He grew quiet and caressed my cheek. "Are you sure you want to do this, darling? This will be...quite awkward for me, but I'm willing to do it because I don't believe they'll be fair to you otherwise. And because...I love you so."
I had come too far to stop now, and I'd make it up to him later. I stood on tiptoe, kissed him in the corner of his lips, and emphatically nodded.
Methrammar shook his head gently with a wistful smile, "Willful girl. Come on round back here. We'll need a little privacy for this."
I followed my handsome half-elf around the back of the tea house and braced myself. I half expected it to hurt, but it actually tickled a little. I took advantage of a nearby pond to see the results.
And was promptly transfixed by my reflection. I gazed from all angles. I walked back and forth. Methrammar fell over laughing.
"What are you snickering about?" came Magnos' voice rumbling out of my mouth, which I covered quickly with my hand.
"I never thought I'd see Magnos swish and sashay like that. I daresay it's worth the price of admission!"
I stole another glance at my reflection. "You were...quite accurate." again came Magnos' voice.
Methrammar bowed with a flourish. But then a shadow passed over him as he said, "I never forget a face."
I was beginning to wonder if this charade was going to be worth it. I adjusted my stance, remembering how Magnos carries himself, and walked towards the door. My mimickry must have been convincing because I saw the smile fade from Methrammar's face out of the corner of my eye as he watched me. "I'm going to use the water closet first, then I'm heading to the mahjong table.
"What, you have to relieve yourself?"
I stuck out my tongue at him and turned on my heel, saying "Wouldn't you like to know? Stay close!"
***
Methrammar was kind enough to give me locals' garb so I wouldn't pass out in the sweltering heat, but it took some time finding my way around in it. He had been, now that I could see everything, scarily accurate. I wondered briefly, as I put my clothes back on, whether he'd been spying on me. The thought sent a chill down my spine before I pulled myself together and strode out the door.
I sidled up to my lover and batted my eyelids coquettishly as we exited our suite together. “Methrammar darling, are you practiced at transmutation spells?”
The tall half-elf at my side bowed his head in thought. “Well,” he spoke hesitantly, “my mother enchanted a wand with a few spells of the transmutation school. The great thing about it is that it has unlimited uses.” He pulled the wand out of a pocket on the inside of his cape and pointed it at me dramatically. “I call it...the Transmogrifyer!”
I giggled and Methrammar smiled gently. “Yes, it's a rather silly name, isn't it? Tyresia was actually the one to call it that. Mother meant it for me to use for diplomatic purposes only, but Tyresia was always thinking of more amusing things to do with it.”
I took it out of his open hand gently and felt it crackle with Alustriel's magical aura. The Transmogrifyer was indeed a powerful artifact. I winked at Methrammar and and swished the wand at him playfully. “So, what's it loaded with?”
As we continued down the stairs to the exit, he listed off the stored spells of the wand I now held in my hot little hand:
Disguise self
Polymorph other
Translate languages
Perfect. I frowned slightly and tried to sound unimpressed. “Doesn't sound like much. I mean, only three spells?”
Methrammar stared at me, mouth agape. “Remember Seledra, this wand has unlimited uses per day!”
I bustled ahead of him and out the door. He strode to catch up. I called over my shoulder, “And it can be used anywhere, even here?”
“Oh, yes!” my companion exclaimed.
I chortled to myself and stopped suddenly after we reached the tea house from the day before. “I want to play a game.”
Methrammar frowned gently. “Darling, the locals are uncomfortable with your presence as it is. Best not to force yourself on them. I know you think you can change the world by the sheer force of your will...” he stroked my cheek affectionately,”and sometimes even I believe that you can, but, well, we're on vacation!”
I pouted. “I believe this little excursion was your idea of showing me a good time, yes? You said I could do whatever my heart desires! I want to play. I want to win. There's something I want to buy in the market...”
My lover wrapped his arm around my shoulder placatingly, “Whatever it is that you want, darling, I'll buy it. No price is too high-”
I couldn't make him pay for the amulet. The very idea made my skin crawl with guilt. I held my hand up. “No. You've already been more than generous. This is something I have to do for myself. However...”
Methrammar raised a hopeful eyebrow.
I continued, “I need you to cast a few spells on me. I know that they will never let an elf beat them, even if I am a better mahjong player.”
Methrammar gazed past me at the people swarming in and around the tea house and nodded. “You need to be beyond reproach. You need to look like one of them, and not one of the locals. No one wants to walk inside their favorite tea house only to spot their doppelganger. And I'm sure you don't want someone getting too familiar with you if they recognize you either. That leaves someone who can't possibly be in the vicinity.” He grimaced sheepishly. “I'm afraid I'm not familiar with too many individuals of the Shou persuasion."
I cocked my head to the side. "You should do something about that sometime."
He nodded. "I know."
"Well, who do you know? An ambassador? A diplomat? A traveling monk on a mission to right wrongs where he sees them?" I poked.
Methrammar shook his head. "No country from Kara-Tur has any ambassadorial relationship with any country in Faerun, and that's been making trade with them rather...slippery."
"Well, maybe you should take another trip here, make some contacts, see about building an embassy back in Silverymoon. Your mother would be proud." I said.
Methrammar smiled broadly. "You're right, that's a wonderful idea. I shall let her know as soon as I see her again."
here was a lull in the conversation. We weren't moving forward. So I poked again. "I'm not sure you answered my question, darling."
"Mm?"
I repeated my question from earlier. "Who do you know?"
Methrammar heaved a sigh and mumbled something I couldn't hear.
"What?"
Methrammar said a little sharply, "Magnos."
I must have been visibly taken aback, for my lover softened his expression and continued. "Yes, it's terrible, isn't it? I wish I had someone more...appropriate for you, but there it is."
I stammered. "B-but there's got to be someone else. Anyone else. Not him." The temptation would be too great.
"He is of the Shou persuasion, is he not? He's male, which will give you a bonus in this society. And finally, there is absolutely no chance that he'll come walking through this door. You're not...uncomfortable with the idea, are you?" He raised an eyebrow at me and gazed a little penetratingly into my eyes.
I blinked. "No, should I be? Sure, I could use the swagger and the confidence, but...well, I mean, it's just-"
"Yes?" He stretched out the word for an inordinate amount of time.
I flailed my arms about. "He's got man parts! I mean, how-how do you walk around with those bits dangling between your legs? Don't they get in the way?"
Methrammar threw back his head and laughed. "I guess you'll find out soon enough, my love." He grew quiet and caressed my cheek. "Are you sure you want to do this, darling? This will be...quite awkward for me, but I'm willing to do it because I don't believe they'll be fair to you otherwise. And because...I love you so."
I had come too far to stop now, and I'd make it up to him later. I stood on tiptoe, kissed him in the corner of his lips, and emphatically nodded.
Methrammar shook his head gently with a wistful smile, "Willful girl. Come on round back here. We'll need a little privacy for this."
I followed my handsome half-elf around the back of the tea house and braced myself. I half expected it to hurt, but it actually tickled a little. I took advantage of a nearby pond to see the results.
And was promptly transfixed by my reflection. I gazed from all angles. I walked back and forth. Methrammar fell over laughing.
"What are you snickering about?" came Magnos' voice rumbling out of my mouth, which I covered quickly with my hand.
"I never thought I'd see Magnos swish and sashay like that. I daresay it's worth the price of admission!"
I stole another glance at my reflection. "You were...quite accurate." again came Magnos' voice.
Methrammar bowed with a flourish. But then a shadow passed over him as he said, "I never forget a face."
I was beginning to wonder if this charade was going to be worth it. I adjusted my stance, remembering how Magnos carries himself, and walked towards the door. My mimickry must have been convincing because I saw the smile fade from Methrammar's face out of the corner of my eye as he watched me. "I'm going to use the water closet first, then I'm heading to the mahjong table.
"What, you have to relieve yourself?"
I stuck out my tongue at him and turned on my heel, saying "Wouldn't you like to know? Stay close!"
Methrammar was kind enough to give me locals' garb so I wouldn't pass out in the sweltering heat, but it took some time finding my way around in it. He had been, now that I could see everything, scarily accurate. I wondered briefly, as I put my clothes back on, whether he'd been spying on me. The thought sent a chill down my spine before I pulled myself together and strode out the door.
